Related

The biggest of all classical music events comes, if not to town, then at least close by, as Seattle Opera begins its latest presentation of Richard Wagner’s epic cycle of four operas, The Ring, next month.

2013 is not only the 200th anniversary of Wagner’s birth, but also the 50th birthday of Seattle Opera, a company known for disproportionate ambition and achievement. When Seattle started out on its Wagner adventure, all things Wagnerian were still in something of a postwar slump, with companies everywhere unwilling to forget or forgive the special status the composer’s work attained with the Third Reich.

Cut to today: During recent seasons there’s been a sense that everybody is getting on the Wagner bandwagon, with interesting North American Rings in San Francisco (2011), Los Angeles (2010), and even Toronto (2006). The failure of the Met’s very expensive (and, from my perspective, just awful) Robert Lepage Ring may well have cooled the contemporary Wagner boom, but in Seattle they are still true believers. Seattle’s plans this summer have the potential to show that you don’t need all that New York excess to do a fine job with these astonishing works.

Seattle got into the Wagner line good and early: the first cycle was mounted in 1975, when the company was still in its institutional infancy. Founder Glynn Ross (1914–2005) was a Wagner fan who decided that his growing company could put itself on the map with something big and audacious. Doing Wagner on the edge of the continent would no doubt have appealed to the definitive master of German opera: the composer was a revolutionary who hated the jaded opera establishment of his day, and wanted his audiences to get away from the world and the temptations of urban life. Certainly the Northwest landscape has its Wagnerian larger-than-life elements.

It was all improbable, but the pattern was set and the long association of Seattle Opera and Wagner took root. Looking back over 50 years of history, it’s fascinating to contemplate how a new company in a young city was able to achieve its goals so quickly. Just as the origins of Vancouver Opera go back to the cultural fanfare surrounding British Columbia’s 1958 Centennial, Seattle Opera started out in the euphoric can-do mind set of the 1962 Century 21 World’s Fair. The fair’s infrastructure legacy included a long-overdue reconstruction of Seattle’s aging Civic Auditorium. Given space, enthusiasm, and a good deal of local support, Seattle Opera was soon in business, and in business to stay.

Part of Seattle Opera’s uniqueness is its continuity. There have been just two general directors. Founder Glynn Ross stayed with the company until 1983, when Speight Jenkins’ reign began. Now, as the company turns 50, it is transitioning to a new director, its first non-American, Aidan Lang.

Under Ross’s watch Seattle presented the mix and match of popular favourites that marks all provincial companies, but there were some quite unexpected works too, including Boris Godunov in its second season, and a generous portion of new American operas. Jenkins kept to the plan, and even oversaw the third re-working of Seattle Opera’s home, now resplendent in its latest incarnation as Marion McCaw Hall.

But in recent years there have been financial challenges and a hint of predictability. In a fascinating article in the online journal Crosscut, journalist David Brewster characterizes Seattle’s arts scene as “too traditionalist and too repetitive,” noting that most of Seattle’s previous movers and shakers hailed “from New York, with its big-production, big-splash traditions.”

Not Aidan Lang, a Brit with experience at Glyndebourne, Opera North, and the Welsh National Opera, whose latest gig was with Opera New Zealand. According to Brewster: “His early experience at Welsh National Opera and Britain’s Glyndebourne Festival sends a strong signal to opera buffs that he has been influenced by two companies who have led the way to more deeply theatrical, extensively rehearsed and strikingly fresh interpretations. If Jenkins’ first priority has been singers, Lang’s would appear to be dramatic impact.”

If this sounds familiar, you may recall the leadership trajectory of our own Vancouver Opera, and the controversial tenure of Brian McMaster (who led VO in the 1980s) while running the Welsh National Opera. McMaster knew exactly what he wanted to do; many local opera stakeholders weren’t impressed. Exit McMaster — who shortly thereafter became director of the Edinburgh International Festival.

Will history repeat itself in Seattle? Or do new times require new strategies to keep classical music’s most extravagant and expensive genre chugging along in artistic and fiscal good health?

Brewster sounds a note of cautious optimism. “It’s as if Seattle has come to understand that many of the energies of art come not from the more stodgy metropolitan capitals such as New York and London but from the upstart provincial capitals that are open to new influences, lie at the borderlands, and whose economics allow more adventuresome programming. In no longer slavishly wanting to be like New York, we have begun finding our own distinctive voices.”

Seattle’s 2013 Ring

This year’s Ring starts out with an attractive neo-traditional concept for scenery, staging, and costumes. In the big parts, several of the cast are making their Seattle debuts, notably soprano Alwyn Mellor as Brünnhilde and heldentenor Stefan Vinke as Siegfried; Wotan, on the other hand, is sung by longtime Seattle favourite bass-baritone Greer Grimsley. On the podium for all four operas is Asher Fisch, formerly music director of the Israeli Opera, and now Seattle Opera’s principal guest conductor.

There will be three separate runs at the cycle: Cycle I, August 4/5/7/9; Cycle II, August 12/13/15/17; and Cycle III, August 20/21/23/25.

And just so you know: Das Rheingold, Wagner’s “prequel” to the saga, is the shortest, running some two and a half hours; Götterdämmerung, the concluding segment, runs 5 hours, 15 minutes. For those audience members whose enthusiasm greatly exceeds their financial resources, Seattle Opera offers standing room tickets (wear really, really comfortable shoes!) for $20 per opera.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Share

Seattle Opera celebrates 50 epic years

Video

Entertainment Videos

Best of Postmedia

'People suffer out here and they keep going and that never gets easier to watch,' says nurse Margaux Pontoreau-Bazinet, who decamps to where she's needed most on the streets, operating out of a knapsack stuffed with medical equipment

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.